4 Things You Should Know About Tar & Chip Paving

Have you considered tar and chip pavement lately? It’s an option that many people completely overlook for their business or residential pavement projects, and it offers a great value. Of course, it’s tough to beat the economy and durability of asphalt; tar and chip pavement doesn’t typically last as long. But it is cheaper than asphalt, and it’s very strong in its own right. Tar and chip pavement also has a unique and distinct look, and as we’ll discuss later, it can add texture to your home or business.

You’ve probably driven or walked on this type of pavement in the last month, and you may even have thought it looked and felt nice. But you might not have considered that it’s an option for your next project. Here are four other things you didn’t know about tar and chip pavement.

1. It’s used a lot in Australia and New Zealand

Tar and chip paving was actually invented in New Zealand, and it’s still used widely there. Because this type of pavement (also known sometimes as “asphaltic surface treatment” or “chipsealing”) is cheaper than regular asphalt and concrete applications, it’s been very useful for paving long stretches of roads (especially in Australia) in extremely remote areas with very sparse populations. Anybody who has been to the outback knows there’s plenty of tar and chip paving out there!

2. It’s also used lot on rural roads in the US

For the same reasons tar and chip paving is used prevalently in Australia, it’s used in a lot of remote and rural areas here in the United States. When you compare tar and chip to gravel, the difference in longevity and quality is huge. But the price point of tar and chip is ultimately lower, resulting in huge savings over a large area. You don’t see tar and chip paving very often in high trafficked areas, since asphalt is more durable and smooth, and can support higher levels of traffic over time.

3. People also choose it for aesthetic reasons

There are a lot of situations in which people choose this type of pavement not only for the great economic value it provides, but also for the unique look and feel of tar and chip pavement. It gives a visual texture that looks great in a lot of different settings, from private walkways to business entrances. Tar and chip pavement for driveways has also gained in popularity and has been featured on home renovation TV shows.

4. It’s sometimes used beneath new roads

Every pavement installation has deeper levels than what you see and feel on the surface. These are known as the base and sub-base levels of the road or driveway. In some cases, road construction crews have been funded to lay tar and chip pavement as the base layer for the road itself, which is installed on top using asphalt or concrete applications. This obviously adds time and expense to the road project, but the idea is that the road (and therefore the investment) will perform better over time.